Cannabutter ideas

Cannabutter is cannabis-infused butter that can get you baked. Here are some of the most awesome ways to use cannabutter in cooking.

If you ask anyone who’s ever made “special brownies” before, they’ll probably tell you that the key to making a great bake is having a good recipe for cannabutter. Cannabutter, as it’s commonly known, is a butter that’s infused with cannabis. As most stoners can tell you, it’s easy to make and it also is the cornerstone of almost any stoner-friendly edible treat. Magic Brownies are always fun to make, but the truth is that there’s only so many times you can eat THC-packed brownies before you get sick of chocolate. Unfortunately, if your recipe for cannabutter is anything like ours, this will leave you with plenty of extra cannabutter. If you have leftovers, you might want to try out these cool ways to use cannabutter for a magical breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Most potheads I know end up craving something meaty or greasy when they smoke up a storm. That’s why one of the most awesome ways to use cannabutter is making a stoner-friendly burger with them. Cannaburgers are easy to make, and really smell wonderful when they’re ready to serve. This cannaburger recipe gives you burgers that have a nice, savory-spicy kick to them without having you running for a glass of water every five seconds. Of course, that recipe requires cannabis olive oil instead of cannabutter. So, if you have left over cannabutter, melting it and using it in its place may be a good option to consider.

Recipe: How to make basic cannabis-infused butter

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Cannabis-infused butter (cannabutter) is one of the simplest and most common ways to make infused cannabis edibles. However, making infused butter can be a little bit tricky. In order to activate its psychoactive potential, the flower must be heated slowly at a low temperature. This recipe will first guide you through this process–called decarboxylation–before walking you through a step-by-step guide to infusing butter.

Note: Homemade edibles are very difficult to accurately dose. This guide will give you some tips for more precise dosing, but all DIY cannabis cooks should be aware that there’s no way to guarantee the potency or homogeneity of their batch.

How to make cannabis-infused butter (or ‘cannabutter’)

Butter is a delicious and versatile carrier for THC and other cannabinoids, although it isn’t the only one. You can also use coconut oil, olive oil, or any other fatty oil for your infusions. Just keep in mind, butter burns easily, so keep a close eye on your cannabutter as it cooks.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of butter
• 1 cup (7-10 grams) of ground cannabis, decarboxylated

The essential first step: Decarboxylating the cannabis

Before making your cannabutter, you’ll need to decarboxylate, or “decarb”, the cannabis flower you’re working with. Skipping this step will result in a weak or inactive finished product. Here’s why: Cannabis buds produce a non-intoxicating acidic cannabinoid called THCA. When we smoke or vaporize cannabis, the heat converts THCA into THC, the molecule that delivers euphoric effects. If preparing CBD edibles, this same process should be applied.RelatedHow to mke edibles: Leafly’s guide to cooking with cannabis

Some recipes may instruct you to decarb cannabis in the hot butter directly, but the less time you spend soaking the buds, the better your infused butter is going to taste. For this reason, we recommend decarbing in the oven first.

Basic cannabutter recipe

1. Decarb the cannabis. Preheat your oven to 245ºF. Place cannabis buds on a non-stick, oven-safe tray. Cover the tray with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Insert the tray into the oven and set a timer for 30-40 minutes. Older, drier cannabis may require less time. (Tip: you can also set your oven to 300ºF and heat for 10 to 18 minutes, although low-and-slow is the recommended approach when decarbing to better preserve the cannabinoids.) Every 10 minutes, gently mix the buds with a light shake of the tray to expose the surface area of the buds equally.
2. Grind. Grind the decarboxylated cannabis coarsely with a hand grinder.
3. Melt the butter. Add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of butter into a stock pot or saucepan. Simmer on low and let the butter melt. Adding water helps to regulate the temperature and prevents the butter from scorching.
4. Add the cannabis. As the butter begins to melt, add in your coarsely ground cannabis product.
5. Simmer. Maintain low heat (ideally above 160ºF but never exceeding 200ºF) and let the mixture simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The mixture should never come to a full boil.
6. Strain the cannabutter. Set a funnel on top of a jar and line it with cheesecloth. Once the butter has cooled off, pour it over the cheesecloth funnel and allow it to strain freely. (Tip: Squeezing the cheesecloth may push more bad-tasting plant material through).
7. Refrigerate the jar of butter. If excess water forms at the bottom of the jar, you can remove the solid butter with a knife and drain the water out. (The butter will need to refrigerate for about an hour before removing the water.)
8. Dose carefully. Refer to dosing information below before adding your butter to any snacks, dishes, or desserts.

Directions for slow cooker

1. Grind your cannabis coarsely with a hand grinder. (Tip: A coffee grinder will finely pulverize the flower and prevent effective straining of bad-tasting plant material.)
2. Set your slow cooker to low, or somewhere around 160ºF. (Tip: Avoid exceeding 200ºF to prevent burning or wasting cannabinoids. You can also add a little water to help prevent scorching.)
3. Add the butter and ground cannabis. Stir occasionally.
4. After about 3 hours, turn off the crockpot and wait for the butter to cool.
5. Strain as above. 

Cannabis Pasta

The other major craving I’ve noticed among my stoner friends is pasta. It totally makes sense, too. Pasta is creamy, gives you that soothing “down home” afterglow once you’re done eating it, and also works wonderfully as a cure for the munchies. A good recipe for Cannabis Pasta will allow you to get a buttery, pesto-like taste to your noodles… and also will allow you to enjoy the munchies in a classier, more adult way. If you want to use cannabutter instead of oil, just mix the butter into the finalized dish. Overall, it’s one of the best ways to use cannabutter if you love Italian food. Baked potatoes just got way more baked than ever. Once I saw Mary Jean Dunsdson’s video with an amazing recipe for Pot-atos, then I realized that there are many, many ways to enjoy cannabis and everyone’s favorite root vegetable at once. While Dunsdson’s recipe requires olive oil infused with cannabis, the truth is that you can really get a nice, smoky baked potato topping by using some cannabutter on it instead. Or, if the “green” taste of your cannabutter is too strong, you might want to mix it with some sour cream to get it to a more appropriate level of butteriness.

Double Dutch Coffee

If you want to see the full extent of how insane cannabis can be in a drink, then why not see how awesome Double Dutch Coffee is? This is a unique, Ossiana-suggested take on a classic Dutch Coffee that just so happens to be one of the most awesome ways to use cannabutter in your morning routine. As some of you might know, Dutch Coffee is coffee that has a little bit of butter in it. Double Dutch is a way of giving a subtle nod to Amsterdam culture… all while enjoying a good boost of caffeine. Just add a teaspoon to a tablespoonful cannabutter to your coffee, and enjoy the ride. It will perk you up, but it also will make you feel a million times more mellow than before. Back when we were young, Dr.Seuss had told us the story of Sam, I Am and his love of green eggs and ham. Unlike the classic childhood book, this recipe isn’t just tasty — it’s super fun. (Oh, and you don’t have to pair this with ham.)

In order to get some marijuana-infused eggs going on in your kitchen, you’ll need to get your hands on cannabutter or make it as you go. Watching Mary Jean Dunsdon’s tutorial shows you how to make it happen and makes you really appreciate all the ways to use cannabutter in your morning routine.

Pot Pie

For many of us, chicken pot pie is one of the most comforting things we can ever have on a dinner table. It’s thick, creamy, and has that classic taste of cream of chicken soup. Considering how buttery this dish is, it’s not that hard to see how a little bit of cannabutter can spice things up.

If you’ve been keeping up with food trends lately, then you already know that cake pops are the biggest thing since sliced pie. In many ways, they are like brownies and other cake-y cookies, but the truth is that their small portions and heavy flavors make them a hit when brownies won’t do the trick.

This simple video shows you how to make the most of the cake pop trend by using cannabis to make sure you and your friends really get baked… in the best way possible.

Ganja Nachos

If there’s one thing that’s my Achilles’ heel during a munchies session, it’s nachos. I am the type of person who will end up taking a hike to Taco Bell and eating several platters of nachos when I am too baked to know any better. There are many, many ways to use cannabutter that capitalize on this weakness of mine — and one of them involves a pretty amazing recipe for Ganja Nachos. If you want to kick this stoner meal up a notch, we suggest serving this with marijuana-infused margaritas, too. Not all of the ways to use cannabutter involve cheap stoner foods. Some of them can be downright festive in nature, and might work better as a main course for a holiday celebration. For example, you can give yourself (and your fellow stoners) something to be really thankful for with this Thanksgiving-approved recipe for Cannabis-Infused Turkey. We suggest making your favorite stuffing as a side dish, and getting ready for one of the most satisfying post-Thanksgiving naps you’ll ever experience.

Pot Popcorn

Lastly, let’s finish this off with one of the easiest ways to use cannabutter during a movie night with friends: Pot Popcorn. This is a recipe that allows you to get that nice, cannabis-like taste in your kernels and also gives you that nice, easy baked feeling of good ganja. As one of the easiest edibles to make on this list, pot popcorn is a great treat for those times where you don’t feel like entertaining too much — but do still enjoy the nice roll of a good edible high.